All characters belong to Joss Whedon, The WB Network, and 20th Century Fox. I am just a fan.

“Ugh! Why aren’t they here yet?!” Glory complained, stomping her foot.

Ben rolled his eyes and pointed towards the balcony doors.

Glory approached them and flung open the drapes. She smiled cheerily as she gazed outside.

“Did I do that?” She asked, grinning from ear to ear.

Ben nodded.

“Well, we can’t have my minions trudging through a snow storm when there’s work to be done, now can we?”

Dawn chuckled.

“Buffy is so gonna kick your ass when she gets here.”

Dawn was sitting in the middle of the room, tied to a chair.

“Aww, poor baby. Still thinks the big sister will come save the day. Well, sorry, honey. Fact check. Your sister and her boyfriend are most likely dead.”

Dawn raised her eyebrows.

“Spike’s with her? Oh, well then. They might not get along, but they make a great team.”

She sighed.

“Hate to break it to ya, babe, but you’re toast.”

Glory glared at her.

“Am I?” she asked.

Dawn nodded confidently.

Glory once again raised her hands towards the sky, this time ceasing the storm. When she was through, she looked back at Dawn.

"We’ll just see about that.”

Buffy sat there in silence, as she held her knees to her chest. She stared blankly at the wall.

Spike was at the opposite end of the tunnel, laying on his back, with his hands under his head. He gazed up at the ceiling. He hated her. Hated her with all his unbeating heart. Hated her for how she treated him, how she didn’t give a bloody damn about what he felt, and most of all he hated her because she hated him. Because she could never love him.

But he loved her. God, he loved her....loved her so much it ripped him apart. He was lost in her. Lost in her beauty, her strength, her determination, and hell, even her bloody annoying attitude.

But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered. Not anymore.

Buffy couldn’t help but glance over in Spike’s direction. He just lay there, purposely distancing himself from her. She didn’t know what to think. He had told her he loved her before, but somehow the way he had just told her made all the difference.

She watched him as he stood up and began to walk towards her. He didn’t make eye contact with her, and instead reached out...

And yanked his duster off from around her shoulders.

Buffy jerked back in bewilderment. Spike threw on his black leather jacket and proceeded to walk towards the tunnel’s entrance.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“Gettin’ out of this bloody hell hole. Gettin’ away from you.”

Buffy frowned.

“What about the storm?”

“Wake up, blondie. The sodding storm ended ten minutes ago.”

She immediately stood up and looked out. He was right. All that was left was glistening snow that covered the ground.

“So you’re just leaving?”

“Looks like.”

He turned his back to her and continued to walk away. Wait, he couldn’t just leave. She needed him. Dawn. What about Dawn? Buffy ran up to him and turned him around to face her.

“You can’t just leave, Spike. I need you.”

Spike laughed.

“No, Slayer. You need my help. You don’t need me. Never have and never will.”

“I can’t do this without you.”

“You’ve got your Scoobies, your Slayer powers. I’m sure you’ll manage. You always do.”

He started to walk away again, but she stopped him.

“No, you’re wrong. You actually think I would admit it if it were a lie? Please, Spike. You know me too well. Almost better than I know myself.”

“Good, then I’ll be on my way. It’ll give you some time to get in touch with the inner-Buffy.”

“This isn’t a joke.”

“Isn’t it? It’s all a bloody joke, Slayer. I’m a bloody joke. And I’m leaving...for good.”

For some reason, Buffy’s heart sunk. He couldn’t be serious.

“You’re leaving Sunnydale?”

“It’s about damn time too. Maybe I’ll go to LA, see what Angel’s up to.”

“But you hate Angel.”

He shrugged.

“Listen, you can’t just go.”

“I can and I am. I’ll send you a bleeding post card, if you want.”

She just stared at him, not really knowing what to say or how to stop him.

Was that disappointment in her eyes? Sadness even? No, just pity. Pity for the miserable vampire who can’t face his problems, so he runs. Runs away and hides. Well, if that’s what it bloody took for him to get over her, than so be it.

He looked into her beautiful eyes one last time, his expression unchanging.

“Goodbye, Buffy.”

She didn’t reply and instead just watched him as he walked away. He walked slowly down the side of the road, his duster flapping behind him.

Then he stopped. He stopped and turned around...then started jogging towards her.

Buffy’s feet remained glued to the ground as he approached her. Without hesitance, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her face to his. He kissed her so hard, it hurt.

Buffy couldn’t think...couldn’t bring herself to push him away. Didn’t *want* to push him away. Not yet, anyway. He held some sort of power over her that Buffy could not describe.

But fortunately, or unfortunately...she couldn’t really decide at that exact moment, the kiss ended before it could even begin.

Spike left her there breathless. Left her there confused.

Left her. For good. Because she knew, once he turned around, he wasn’t turning back.

Buffy walked back home, her mind racing. She had just let Spike kiss her. Kiss her. Dear God, what would her friends think? What did she think? She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Well, it didn’t matter because he was gone now. Out of her life for good. She didn’t have to worry about him anymore. Well, not like she ever did...

Who was she kidding? She missed him. No matter how much she lied to herself, she missed him. Missed his company, his humor, his....

But why? Why did she miss him? That was one question she couldn’t answer. Sure, her feelings for him had changed within that past night, but she still didn’t care for him all that much. Still disliked him.

Just not as much as she did before. And, yeah, she had always been in some way attracted to him. She hated him, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t good-looking...he was. But now, it went deeper than that. She felt like she were on some sort of friendship level with him. Even though they fought all the time and he made her crazy, she still felt like he knew her more than anyone. He understood her.

Buffy sighed as she began to approach her house. It was still empty, so her friends must be at the Magic Box.

*Guess I’ll go there,* she thought to herself.

Determined to think about more important things than Spike, she tried to think about how she was going to defeat Glory. How she was going to rescue her sister and save the world. That was way more important than some love sick vampire.

Buffy sullenly walked down the street and saw a car slowing down. It was her friends.

“Oh, my God! Buffy! We were so worried about you. What happened? Where were you?” Willow asked excitedly, getting out of the car to rush over to her friend.

Buffy gave Willow a hug and lead her back to the car.

“I’ll tell you on the way. But, for now, we have to get to Glory’s mansion...fast. I have a feeling she’s gonna get the ritual started any minute now.”

Willow nodded and Buffy slid in next to Xander in the front.

“Buff, where the hell were you? We were worried sick,” Xander told her.

Buffy sighed, not really wanting to relive her horrible night.

"I sought shelter in a tunnel, waiting for the storm to pass. You guys didn’t try to go to Glory’s by yourselves, did you?”

“No, the storm was a bit problematic. We reluctantly had to go back and just prayed that you would be safe,” Giles replied.

Buffy nodded.

“That’s good.”

She looked out the window as they passed the cemetery. Spike was no where to be seen. Probably already left. OK, why was she thinking about Spike at a time like this?

*Get a grip, Buffy,* she scolded herself. She had no reason to feel guilty.

“What happened to your arm?” Anya asked, interrupting her thoughts. “And your shirt?”

“I accidentally cut myself and used my shirt to stop the blood.”

“You should really get that examined. You could get an infection of some sort,” Giles warned.

“I’m fine.”

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Buffy’s heart started racing, as they approached Glory’s manor. All the memories came rushing back and she wished that it was someone else’s turn to be the hero. She had it up to here with world-saving.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked.

“Will and I have a spell...it’ll take a little while to prepare, so do you think you guys could occupy her ‘til then?” Tara said.

“Sure thing,” Buffy replied.

They all got out of the car and paused at the door. Buffy took a deep breath. She turned around and faced her friends.

“We can do this,” she told them.

They smiled and nodded, as Buffy turned around and placed her hand on the doorknob.

I can do this.

Change of Heart: Part VII
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